Hardeeville firefighter, mother continues education

Jessicah Peters/Hardeeville Today Danielle Dennis, Hardeeville Fire Department engineer, recently graduated from the University of South Carolina's Saturday Business degree program. She balanced being a full-time mom and firefighter while being a student.

Danielle Dennis is a juggler. She’s a mother of two toddlers and a teenager, and for seven years has been a Hardeeville firefighter. In May, she will become a college graduate.

Dennis said a friend mentioned the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Saturday Business Degree Plan program and she decided to enroll to take the necessary general education classes. She said she worked hard for two and half years

“It was difficult, but doable,” she said. “I’m a very disciplined person and when the kids were napping, I studied or when I worked a shift I was reading while the guys watched TV in the game room. You need to have a good set of time management and can’t procrastinate.”

The USCB program is designed specifically for adults with jobs during the week and who have already partially completed a degree elsewhere. The convenience of the Saturday class schedule enables those who work full-time to take a full load of classes and complete their degree.

Peter Swift, Saturday Business Degree Plan Coordinator, is proud of Dennis for completing the program despite her daily duties as a mother and firefighter.

“I have great respect for Danielle. She had two babies during her time in the program, took some time off, and then picked it up again. Like the other Saturday students, she took advantage of our flexible schedule and made it work for her busy situation” Swift said.

Originally from Michigan, Dennis moved to the Lowcountry about 11 years ago. She began volunteering at the fire station until she was hired full-time. As an engineer, she not only drives the fire truck but also manages the station as a shift supervisor.

After being a single mom for many years, Dennis married Parker Dennis three years ago. Her 16-year-old daughter, Ashley, soon received two siblings Emily, 2, and William, 1.

While beginning a family, Dennis decided to return to college to receive her bachelor’s degree.

Dennis attended classes at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, but it took five years, because of other demands on her time, for her to receive her associate’s. From there, she enrolled in the USCB program.

There are two, three and a half-hour classes every Saturday which meet for eight straight weeks, making it a full day of learning. Not only was Dennis working full-time, caring for her children and attending USCB, but she also was attending EMT training in Savannah.

Now that she has completed the program and is a certified EMT, Dennis is studying for the Graduate Record Examination. She hopes to then apply to Georgia Southern University to work toward achieving a master’s in public administration.

“I want to stay in government, I enjoy it. People ask if I’m going to stay in the fire service now that I have a degree in business and of course I am. Through school, I’ve learned so much and that municipality departments are businesses,” Dennis said. “We have budgets and revenue so it’s very much like a business and I want to help make the fire service better for the future.”

The Saturday program started in the fall of 2008. Dennis was part of the second group to go through the program. During the previous five years, USCB has had more than 50 graduates of the program. She will walk with her classmates in May during the USCB graduation ceremony.

“The program can be completed in 22 months but most students take slightly over two years. There is no limit to the timeframe as life sometimes gets in the way. We work with the student as their advisers to keep them on track,” Swift said.